"Profoundly deaf" and deeply connected. Anna Tess' love for people amid and through hearing loss

She was a toddler who loved dancing to music and had no trouble following instructions from her teachers at daycare. But when Anna was two years old, her parents and teachers noticed she was different from the other kids. The hearing loss diagnosis came and, along with it, a dreading prognosis: Anna would never talk.

But she does talk. And she sat with host Amy Boyle for this week's episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast. The Education Coordinator at the Foundation for Hearing and Speech Resources (FHSR) and a doctor in special education, Anna Tess described her work empowering parents to support children who are deaf, gave practical tips on creating inclusive classrooms and encouraged people connected to hearing loss to celebrate triumphs. Big and small.

Anna could dance to music and follow instructions as a kid due to her visual and sensorial skills. She mimicked her classmates. She felt the music vibration. When Anna was two and a half years old, she got her first cochlear implant, which worked well for her.

But as the episode progresses, it becomes less about Anna and her challenges and more about her passion: helping families navigate hearing loss in a positive, compassionate way.

A former teacher of the deaf and school principal, Anna stressed the importance of self-advocacy curriculums in schools so children with hearing loss learn how to advocate for themselves. She also talked about creating "inviting" spaces with the help of technology, like systems that amplify the voice of the teacher and the use of captions.

Now, at FHSR, she educates parents and caregivers on the laws involved with hearing loss and helps them ensure their children's educational needs are met. She also supports teachers, lawyers, neuropsychologists and other professionals. All free of charge.

"I definitely wanted to do something with people," she told Amy when describing her process for vocational discernment at a young age. "I knew I didn't want to do something like the business world or sit behind a computer." Her answers are all outward-facing. Even her definition of being phenomenal is beyond herself:

"What is phenomenal is that no one stopped me. No one tried to stop me." Anna has a bachelor's, two master's degrees and a doctorate. She grew up playing soccer, basketball, cross-country. She has even done an Iron Man triathlon.

"Any child with a disability has so much potential," she told Amy as the episode neared its end. "We should never stop and believe that they can do less. We should always believe they can do more."

If you want to learn more about free resources to support the deaf community, visit https://www.fhsr.org/ or https://www.instagram.com/fhsr.chicago/. Other organizations Anna mentioned include Equipped for Equality and Hands and Voices.

Carolina Baldin is a freelance journalist from Brazil. Having worked in law, policy and regulation, she is passionate about everyday stories that illustrate larger issues. She graduated from a master's program at Northwestern University in 2023 and became a guest blogger on the "Speaking of Phenomenal" podcast blog in March 2024.